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Cuyapo
Municipality in Nueva Ecija, Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cuyapo [ˌkujaˈpɔ(ʔ)], officially the Municipality of Cuyapo (Ilocano: Ili ti Cuyapo; Pangasinan: Baley na Cuyapo; Tagalog: Bayan ng Cuyapo), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 70,919 people.[5]
Cuyapo | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Cuyapo | |
Cuyapo Town Hall San Roque Parish Church Cuyapo Public Market | |
 Seal | |
 Map of Nueva Ecija with Cuyapo highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Cuyapo | |
.svg)  Cuyapo Location within the Philippines | |
| Coordinates: 15°46′40″N 120°39′39″E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Central Luzon |
| Province | Nueva Ecija |
| District | 1st district |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Barangays | 51 (see Barangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Jose S. Hidalgo Jr. |
| • Vice Mayor | Florida Paguio-Esteban |
| • Representative | Mikaela Angela B. Suansing |
| • Municipal Council | Members |
| • Electorate | 44,533 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 215.73 km2 (83.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 243 m (797 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 18 m (59 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 70,919 |
| • Density | 328.74/km2 (851.43/sq mi) |
| • Households | 17,907 |
| Demonym | Cuyapeño (Cuyapenyo) |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 14.93 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 323.2 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 721.2 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 264.3 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 123.8 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Tarlac 1 Electric Cooperative (TARELCO 1) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 3117 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)44 |
| Native languages | Ilocano Tagalog |
| Website | www |
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Cuyapo is 53 kilometres (33 mi) from Cabanatuan, 67 kilometres (42 mi) from Palayan, and 169 kilometres (105 mi) from Manila.
Etymology
Cuyapo is named after the water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes) which is known in Pangasinense as kuyapo.[6] The district of Quiapo, Manila is also named after the same plant, this is the Tagalog counterpart, modern spelling kiyapo.[7]
History
Early beginnings
Pangasinenses from Paniqui, Tarlac who used to pasture their cattle, other Pangasinenses from Calasiao and San Carlos, Pangasinan, Ilocano foresters from Santa Maria & Narvacan, Ilocos Sur; Paoay and Batac in Ilocos Norte; and some Tagalogs from Bulacan and southern Nueva Ecija settled in great number in the town. It is said that the exodus, particularly from Ilocos Sur, was due to the forced labor enforced by the Spaniards in the construction of the church in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur[citation needed]. Cuyapo was declared a Barrio of Rosales (now a municipality of Pangasinan) on September 25, 1849, with Senor Santiago Vergara as its first Teniente del Barrio. It was in 1901 under the American civil administration that Rosales, together with Balungao, Umingan, San Quintin, were segregated from Nueva Ecija and became parts of Pangasinan.
Founding
On October 29, 1859, Cuyapo was separated from Rosales, Pangasinan and made a full-fledged town with Don Juan Pangalilingan as the first Gobernadorcillo. It was during his term that the first Catholic Church and convent was constructed. The old road to Guimba, passing through what is now Barangay Maycaban was constructed. On October 29, 1959, Cuyapo celebrated the centennial of its creation as a town.
Revolutionary period
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On June 19, 1898, two to three hundred Cuyapenos, under Teniente Isabelo del Valle of Paniqui, Tarlac, answered the call of duty and ambushed a heavily armed contingent of Spanish Cazadores who came from Rosales en route to Tarlac in Bessang (now part of Barangay Maycaban. The Cuyapenos then had only fifteen (15) Remington rifles and the rest armed with bolos. On July 1, Gen. Mariano Llanera, then Military Governor of Nueva Ecija, appointed Don Marcelo Garcia, last Capitan Municipal during the Spanish Regime, as Presidente Municipal with Don Mariano Flores, last Teniente Mayor, as Vise Presidente Municipal. Later, under the supervisional government, election of municipal officials was held. This revolutionary period of government existed until the American forces came in November of the same year. It was during this period when the people showed their patriotism and loyalty to the cause of the revolution.
Local Government
The municipal government of Cuyapo is headed by a mayor, vice mayor, and members of the Sangguniang Bayan, who are elected by residents in local elections as part of the Philippine system of local governance.
Following the 2025 Philippine local elections, Jose Santiago Hidalgo Jr. was elected as the municipal mayor of Cuyapo. Hidalgo, a retired police general who previously served for several decades in the Philippine National Police, assumed office on June 30, 2025, beginning his three-year term from 2025 to 2028.
Before entering politics, Hidalgo built a long career in law enforcement, rising through the ranks of the Philippine National Police and eventually retiring as a Police General after more than three decades of public service. His background in public safety and security became a significant aspect of his mayoral campaign, emphasizing governance, peace and order, and community development in Cuyapo.
Since taking office, Mayor Hidalgo has promoted several advocacies focused on peace and order, community welfare, cultural promotion, and local development. Drawing from his long career in law enforcement, one of his primary priorities has been strengthening public safety and security in the municipality. His administration has emphasized maintaining peace and order in barangays, improving coordination with local law-enforcement units, and encouraging community participation in crime prevention initiatives.
Festivals and Cultural Events
In 2026, the municipal government of Cuyapo introduced the Warek-Warek Festival, highlighting a local delicacy known as warek-warek, a pork dish similar to dinakdakan or sisig that is associated with the town’s culinary culture. The first Warek-Warek Festival was held from March 3 to March 8, 2026, as part of the annual town fiesta celebration.
The festival was initiated during the administration of Jose Santiago Hidalgo Jr., who was elected mayor in the 2025 Philippine local elections and assumed office on June 30, 2025. Under his leadership, the festival was introduced as a cultural and tourism initiative intended to promote local cuisine, strengthen community identity, and attract visitors to the municipality.
The celebration featured food exhibitions, cooking competitions centered on the warek-warek dish, community events, and activities connected with the town fiesta. The launch of the festival marked the first time the warek-warek dish was formally celebrated as a cultural symbol of Cuyapo, reflecting the municipal government’s effort to highlight local traditions and promote tourism in the town.
Geography
Barangays
Cuyapo is politically subdivided into 51 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
- Baloy
- Bambanaba
- Bantug
- Bentigan
- Bibiclat
- Bonifacio
- Bued
- Bulala
- Burgos
- Cabileo
- Cabatuan
- Cacapasan
- Calancuasan Norte
- Calancuasan Sur
- Colosboa
- Columbitin
- Curva
- District I (Pob. I)
- District II (Pob. II)
- District IV (Pob. IV)
- District V (Pob. V)
- District VI (Pob. VI)
- District VII (Pob. VII)
- District VIII (Pob. VIII)
- Landig
- Latap
- Loob
- Luna
- Malbeg-Patalan
- Malineng
- Matindeg
- Maycaban
- Nagcuralan
- Nagmisahan
- Paitan Norte
- Paitan Sur
- Piglisan
- Pugo
- Rizal
- Sabit
- Salagusog
- San Antonio (Butao)
- San Jose
- San Juan
- Santa Clara
- Santa Cruz
- Simimbaan
- Tagtagumbao
- Tutuloy
- Ungab
- Villaflores
Climate
| Climate data for Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
31 (88) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19 (66) |
19 (66) |
20 (68) |
22 (72) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
22 (71) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 3 (0.1) |
2 (0.1) |
5 (0.2) |
10 (0.4) |
80 (3.1) |
107 (4.2) |
138 (5.4) |
147 (5.8) |
119 (4.7) |
70 (2.8) |
26 (1.0) |
8 (0.3) |
715 (28.1) |
| Average rainy days | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 16.1 | 20.8 | 24.0 | 23.0 | 21.4 | 15.5 | 8.0 | 3.2 | 143 |
| Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[8] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
Population census of Cuyapo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Economy
Tourism
- Apolinario Mabini Marker (Cuyapo) - Site of the arrest of Philippine hero Apolinario Mabini, known as “the sublime paralytic,” by the Americans on December 10, 1899.
- Armando's Garden Resort and Villas
- Colosboa Hills - Tagged as the “New Zealand of Cuyapo” the “Colosboa Hills” is a vast green mountain range perfect for camping, photoshoots, and a biking destination. located at Barangay Colosboa in the Municipality of Cuyapo. Colosboa Hills, Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija.
- Mount Bulaylay Zipline - located at Brgy. Landig, Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. Mt. Bulaylay and Mt. Bangkay. These towering mounds of rock and soil hold another new adventure destination in Nueva Ecija. Mt. Bulaylay, towering at 286 meters above sea level, is a multi-peak mountain with zipline equipment that can whisk a tandem ride
- Paitan Lake - located at Paitan Sur, Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. A serene lake that holds a mystical past poise as a next tourist destination too – that is Paitang Lake discovered by Don Cornelio Sumangil in 1885. Roughly about 15-18 kilometers from Cuyapo’s town proper.
Education
The Cuyapo Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[22]
Primary and elementary schools
- Baloy Elementary School
- Bambanaba Elementary School
- Bentigan Elementary School
- Bibiclat Elementary School
- Bonifacio Elementary School
- Brilliant Achievers School of Excellence
- Bued Primary School
- Burgos Elementary School
- Cabileo Elementary School
- Cabatuan Elementary School
- Calancuasan Norte Elementary School
- Calancuasan Sur Elementary School
- C.B. Tejero Elementary School
- Columbitin Elementary School
- Curva Elementary School
- Cuyapo Central School
- Cuyapo United Methodist Church Learning Center
- Doña Consuelo Elementary School
- D.M. Jose Elementary School
- D.R. Jose Elementary School
- E. Abalos Primary School
- Loob Elementary School
- Luna Elementary School
- Malbeg-Patalan Primary School
- Malineng Elementary School
- Matindeg Elementary School
- Nagcuralan Elementary School
- Nagmisahan Elementary School
- Ongsiako Elementary School
- Open Door Christian Academy
- Paitan Norte Elementary School
- Paitan Sur Elementary School
- Piglisan Elementary School
- Rizal Elementary School
- Sabit Elementary School
- Salagusog Elementary School
- San Antonio Elementary School
- San Jose Elementary School
- Simimbaan elementary school
- Santa Clara Elementary School
- Santa Cruz Primary School
- St. Lawrence Montessori
- St. Pius X Institute
- Tagtagumbao Elementary School
- Villaflores Elementary School
Secondary schools
- Baloy High School
- Bayag High School
- Bued-Luna High School
- Calancuasan National High School
- Cuyapo National High School
- Dr. Ramon De Santos National High School
- Paitan Sur National High School
- Salagusog National High School
- Simimbaan High School
- St. Pius X Institute
- Villaflores Integrated School
